Legalising cannabis weeds out violence in US border states

More than half of US states now allow the sale of cannabis for medicinal useLUCY NICHOLSON/REUTERS

The partial legalisation of marijuana in much of the US has sharply reduced violent crime in southern border states where the market was previously dominated by Mexican drug cartels.

Research published in The Economic Journal suggests that murders relating to the drug business have fallen more than 40 per cent in states along the Mexican border and that violent crime in general in the region is down 13 per cent since Californians led the way on softening the drug laws and voting to legalise medical marijuana in 1996.

The authors of the study said their findings “show that the introduction of medical marijuana laws leads to a decrease in violent crime in states that border Mexico”. The reduction in crime was strongest for counties within…

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